Eva Kevalam – Shifting Time and Space, 2012

Kirtan Collective - Toronto, Canada

Sound Installation & Participatory Performance

The public will be invited to become an integral part of this multimedia performance by clapping, dancing, drumming and using their bodies as instruments. The practice of kirtan, which dates back over 500 years to the South Asian subcontinent, uses sounds, instruments and mantras to induce profound sensory experiences. Kirtan requires the public’s spontaneous participation otherwise it remains only partially realized. 

The performance will combine kirtan with contemporary media art to create a hybrid event that bridges Eastern performance methodologies with contemporary Western art. The performance will act as medium to temporarily situate or transport Nuit Blanche participants from the streets of downtown Toronto to a time when the power of sound alone brought people together. 

The installation will incorporate two video projections: one from a heart rate monitor affixed to the lead performer, the second feeding from a thermal camera to display participants in real-time.  As the tempo fluctuates, the projections change.

Since 2008, the Kirtan Collective has shared a commitment to skill sharing and fostering a critical awareness of culture and the possibilities for social and spiritual change through music and performance art. The collective has worked on a series of projects aimed at opening up the public sphere through kirtan.

69

2 Queen Street East

This project is indoors.